Reclaiming the Holiness Heritage of Women Clergy: A Case Study and Study Guide

Team Members/Contributors

John Stanley Messiah College Contact Me

About this christian faith life teaching team discontinued

This study will use Chapel Hill Church of God, York Springs, Pa as a case study in reversing what Paul Bassett identifies as “fundamentalist leavening” in the holiness movement, especially in regards to women in ministry. A distinctive of most Wesleyan/Holiness denominations is that they have always ordained women as pastors. However, in recent decades as these denominations have assimilated new members, especially from fundamentalist traditions, the willingness to accept women as clergy has diminished. Chapel Hill Church of God fits that pattern because it had women ministers at its inception, and a woman pastor from 1944-1947, only to reject women as leaders in 1982, Pastor Randy Huber preached a series of thirteen sermons on women in the bible in the fall of 1996 and initiated bylaw changes which the congregation approved in November 1997 to allow women to serve as pastoral leaders and members of the Board of Elders. Our project presents a case study of the Chapel Hill transitions, edits and publishes the sermon series, and conducts workshops and classes on how to overcome resistance to women as leaders in Wesleyan/Holiness traditions.

Image Title Year Type Contributor(s) Other Info
  Reclaiming the Wesleyan/Holiness Heritage of Women Clergy: Sermons, A Case Study and Resources 1999 Pamphlet Randal Huber
John Stanley